GREEN BAY, WI - AUGUST 15: Josh Cribbs #16 of the Cleveland Browns returns a kick against the Green Bay Packers during the preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 15, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com

Leading off, our own Jon Steiner wrote an Indians’ concession speech for Big League Stew, and as with all of Jon’s stuff, it’s hilarious and spot-on, “No. We are conceding to the simple failure to execute our plan—a plan we’ve been slowly unfurling for the last half decade—initiated by the trade of a portly southpaw named Carsten Charles to Milwaukee, and set ablaze a year later with the back-to-back moves of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez for prospects most of you had not heard of.” [Jon/Big League Stew]

The Buckeyes and Spartans open up their Big Ten schedule this afternoon. Kyle at Eleven Warriors has you covered with a preview, “A good chunk of Ohio State’s defensive problems relate to tackling. Bell, 6-foot-2 and 244 pounds, doesn’t sound like he’s easy to bring down. The trick this season has been gang tackling. Notre Dame had success after the initial hit on Bell by having multiple defenders there to finish the job. “(Tackling against UAB) was not a finished product by all means, but it was much better than it was the week before,” Meyer said. “The aggressiveness of our back end of our defense right now is a little bit of a concern, and that’s being discussed. And we have some thoughts on that for this week because you have to.”” [Eleven Warriors]

I always enjoy personal profiles of fandom, and Nate Smith at Cavs: The Blog has one, “There is a point at which players – those ambassadors – have been a part of the team and the area for so long that they’re not “players” any more. They’re people. They exist outside of the game. They become part of the mythology of the realm. Instead of our team/our place leaving their marks on them, they leave their marks on us. Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar, Bob Feller, Jose Mesa, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Zydrunas Ilguaskus, and LeBron James (for good and ill), have imbued our folklore with spirits that it didn’t have before they were here. That’s why we’re not “rooting for laundry.” Rooting for people instead of shirts transcends that banality.” [Cavs: The Blog]

Doug Farrar at Shutdown Corner praised the officials for their handling of the knockout hit on Josh Cribbs early in Thursday night’s Browns-Ravens contest, “Ellerbe did hit Cribbs with his helmet, but it’s unclear what else he could have done — the linebacker was in position to make the tackle, Cribbs lowered his head just before the moment of impact happened, and there’s only so much you can take care of with reaction time. After the hit, Cribbs’ helmet popped off and his head hit the ground violently and frighteningly. He was on the ground for a time, but he was able to leave the field with assistance. Baltimore’s James Ihedigbo and Cleveland’s Johnson Bademosi did start a scrum, and both players were immediately hit with offsetting personal foul calls.” [Shutdown Corner]

And finally, Baseball Prospectus mourns the lost of Manny Acta, “If Acta’s job security were tied to his tactical skills, Sandy Alomar, Jr. might still be his bench coach instead of his interim replacement. Acta has talked about reading Baseball Prospectus and mentioned Mind Game as his favorite book. He stressed the importance of preserving outs as opposed to sacrifice bunting. He valued efficiency in stealing, and he said strikeouts weren’t so bad. He understood how to properly leverage relievers. He referred to BABIP by its acronym. He was, by all accounts, us, but with a better personality and experience as a professional player and big-league coach. Many managers pay lip service to saber-savvy strategies just after they’re hired. When they get to the dugout, they go by their gut. But Acta’s teams walk the (unintentional) walk. Nothing annoys the average blogger more than a sacrifice bunt, but Cleveland fans haven’t had much cause for complaint. Acta’s Indians have attempted 15 fewer this season than the next-most sac-averse team. They’ve issued the ninth-fewest intentional walks. And while we can’t necessarily attribute the platoon advantage to Acta, Indians batters have faced same-handed pitchers in a lower percentage of their plate appearances than any other team.” [Baseball Prospectus]

You'll
also
receive Yardbarker's daily Top 10, featuring the best sports stories from around the web.
Customize your newsletter to get articles on your favorite sports and teams. And the best part? It's free!

Company Info

Help

What is Yardbarker?

Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond.